Tokyo, 30 April 2023 (GNP): Japan’s Health Ministry has for the first time legalized the abortion pill, a drug to dissolve pregnancy in its early phases.
The abortion pill manufactured by the British pharmaceutical company Linepharma had been given the ministry’s approval, it was announced in a statement to healthcare professionals on Friday. The pharmaceutical company submitted its two-step mifepristone and misoprostol therapy for licensure in Japan in December 2021.
Several countries offer similar drugs, including the United States, where they have been accessible since 2000, and France, which first authorized the abortion pill in 1988.
The ministry initially met in January to discuss the medication before inviting the public to express views via an online form.
The ministry panel’s approval of the abortion pill to terminate pregnancies up to nine weeks was delayed for a month while thousands of public views were being gathered.
According to the Japanese public broadcaster NHK, the two separate kinds of tablets that make up the procedure can be administered up to nine weeks into a pregnancy. About 93% of participants in a clinical trial in Japan endured a complete abortion in less than 24 hours, it reported.
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The abortion pill and doctor’s visit, NHK claimed, would cost about 100,000 yen ($700). Public health insurance does not provide coverage for abortions. Abortions performed surgically might cost between 100,000 and 200,000 yen.
The decision made by the Japanese panel on Friday was praised online by the nation’s medical professionals.
A physician and gynecologist Kanako Inaba noted that the legalization of abortion pills presented a chance to promote increased sex education and understanding of contraceptive options.
According to the health ministry, there were 126,174 abortions carried out across Japan in fiscal 2021.
The health ministry’s consent to the abortion pill was viewed as a significant milestone for the nation’s reproductive rights. Abortion pill approval has been a long-time aim for activists in Japan.
